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ECU Wideband Setup Guide by Xenocron

Modified on: Thu, 30 Nov, 2017 at 4:28 PM

D.I.Y. Wideband Setup Guide by Xenocron

This guide will encompass setting up your Innovate, PLX or AEM Wideband Controller/Gauge to be able to input, log and use the reading in a variety of “chip based” applications including Hondata S300, Hondata KPRO, Neptune and for standalone ECUs Haltech (Platium Series or Plug and Play) and AEM Version 2 ECUs. The focus is on Honda applications (thus what we specialize in) but you can extrapolate the info to other ECU makes, models and for other applications that use Haltech or AEM.

First, we need to understand how the budget wideband market works. There are few different models of wideband out there, but essentially they all work on the same premise. A wideband air/fuel ratio measuring device “pumps” in air from the exhaust stream across an oxygen sensor which measures OXYGEN content of that gas. It does NOT measure fuel content so when there is excess Oxygen content, a wideband will read leaner, or higher than 14.7 AFRs. Where there is less Oxygen content in the exhaust stream, the mixture will be read richer, or lower than 14.7 AFRs. 14.7 is the stoichiometric or perfect combustion reading of air to fuel ratio for standard pump gasoline. A Stoichiometric mixture can also be displayed as a “Lambda” value of 1.0. The important thing to understand here is that ALL budget wideband monitors on the market, measure oxygen content as LAMBDA, but then convert that reading to AFRs using math, and then display that calculated AFR on the screen or gauge that comes with the wideband package (if included). A lambda of 1.0 is always 1.0, even if you change fuels….however an AFR for gas, and an AFR for E85 will be different as these fuels take different amounts of fuel to achieve the same power during combustion. Here is a basic chart to show you some differences.

Lambda

Gasoline AFRs

E85 AFRs

1.1

16.17

10.83

1.05

15.44

10.25

1.0

14.7

9.76

.95

13.97

9.27

.90

13.23

8.78

.85

12.5

8.30

.80

11.76

7.80

.75

11.03

7.32

.7

10.3

6.83

As you can see by looking at this chart, you will want to target different air/fuel ratios for your goals depending what fuel you are using (hint, every fuel is different including E10 pump gas, E98, E70, methanol, Q16…etc). However, I said that all Wideband Oxygen Sensors, measure LAMBDA…and display AFRs in a Gauge so you can target for the SAME “gauge AFRs” while tuning since you will actually be targeting the same Lambda values…I hope this makes sense. Don’t wrap your brain around it too much…or you might get a headache! Some gauges allow you to select which fuel you are using during setup.

Now on to the Engine Management setup….

For any Wideband, make sure you strictly follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installation into the vehicle…as of the time of this article, the following links work. If they do not as you are reading it, go to the manufacturers website for the most up to date versions, or just simply Google it. I can only spoon feed so much information and continually keep it up to date myself so please no emails asking me to update links.

Make CERTAIN, that you provide power and ground to the wideband at the exact SAME LOCATION that your ECU receives its own power and ground. For the Applications we are discussing, the following chart gives you these locations to use. If you find an error in this chart, please email me so I can correct it. I have proofread this carefully, multiple times…but mistakes can happen!

Honda ECU (chip based solutions) Wiring Diagrams

Wire Color

OBD1 Honda

OBD2A Honda

OBD2B Honda

AEM (12v)

RED

A25

A11

B1

AEM Ground (-)

BLACK

A24

A10

B2

AEM Output (0-5v)

WHITE

D14

D7

C16

Innovate (12v)

RED

A25

A11

B1

Innovate Ground (-)

BLACK

A24

A10

B2

Innovate Output 1 (0-5v)

YELLOW

D14

D7

C16

Innovate Output 2 (0-1v)

BROWN

Only use for Narrowband o2 Sensor setups

PLX (12v)

RED

A25

A11

B1

PLX Ground (-)

BLACK

A24

A10

B2

PLX Output (0-5v)

GRAY*

D14

D7

C16

*PLX has you select which output to use in their instructions, please make sure you use the 0-5v wideband output on the device when pinning it yourself as part of the setup

Wire Color

02-04 Honda K-Series

AEM (12v)

RED

A2

AEM Ground (-)

BLACK

A4

AEM Output (0-5v)

WHITE

E15

Innovate (12v)

RED

A2

Innovate Ground (-)

BLACK

A4

Innovate Output 1 (0-5v)

YELLOW

E15

Innovate Output 2 (0-1v)

BROWN

PLX (12v)

RED

A2

PLX Ground (-)

BLACK

A4

PLX Output (0-5v)

GRAY*

E15

*PLX has you select which output to use in their instructions, please make sure you use the 0-5v wideband output on the device when pinning it yourself as part of the setup

AEM Wiring Diagrams

Wire Color

AEM 1000/1001/1002/6040

AEM

1020/1060

AEM 1010/1012/6050/6052

AEM (12v)

RED

A25

A11

B1

AEM Ground (-)

BLACK

A24

A10

B2

AEM Output (0-5v)

WHITE

D14

D7

C16

Innovate (12v)

RED

A25

A11

B1

Innovate Ground (-)

BLACK

A24

A10

B2

Innovate Output 1 (0-5v)

YELLOW

D14

D7

C16

Innovate Output 2 (0-1v)

BROWN

Only use for Narrowband o2 Sensor setups

PLX (12v)

RED

A25

A11

B1

PLX Ground (-)

BLACK

A24

A10

B2

PLX Output (0-5v)

GRAY*

D14

D7

C16

*PLX has you select which output to use in their instructions, please make sure you use the 0-5v wideband output on the device when pinning it yourself as part of the setup

Now we will setup each ECU System independently. It is important to remember here that your GAUGE and your ECU may show slightly different readings. There are a variety of factors that can make your Gauge and your ECU “drift” from each other. In all cases, please ASSUME that your gauge is reading correctly, and your ECU is not…and using the setup parameters for each ECU, you can bring that “drift” in check to make the Gauge in your car match the Gauge in the ECU (software). This is an important step and may take considerable time carefully making sure your readings are correct to be able to get the best information possible while datalogging.

Hondata S300 (OBD1 Honda ECU, Smanager)

Open whichever tuning calibration you are running. If you are beginning your tune, setup ALL tuning related features, options and setting before trying to setup the Wideband. If your car is already tuned, open the TUNED CALIBRATION from your laptop. It is advised that you do not DOWNLOAD the calibration from the ECU, as this can possibly cause the calibration to become corrupt. ALWAYS save a copy of the original file as a backup…in case you mess up something in the calibration that causes the vehicle to run differently.

Goto PARAMETERS - Closed Loop and scroll to the bottom of this screen.

Wideband input source should be D14 (it can be D10, if you want it to be…that is up to you when you wire it to the ECU).

Voltage Offset should start at 0, you may need to tweak this setting to get your gauge and ECU to match readings

Your Voltage/Lambda Conversion Table is specific to the wideband you are using. AEM and PLX will be very similar.

AEM Wideband

Innovate Wideband

PLX Wideband

Once these are input, next go to OPTIONS à SETTINGS à Units and select your Lambda Unit as AFR or Lambda, whichever you prefer.

Then start your vehicle and let it run for at least a minute. Your wideband will take some time to warm up (it has built in heater control, and it will need to stabilize).

Once it is running and warmed up, hit “CTRL+3” to bring up your SENSORS window and find the sensor labeled “O2” where it should be displaying some sort of Air/Fuel Ratio (or lambda if you selected this in SETTINGS.

Hopefully the car is tuned and running well, if not adjust your air/fuel ratio (using the gauge) until the car runs and idles steady.

Next, note any differences between your wideband GAUGE, and your “O2” reading in SMANAGER. For example, if your Gauge is reading 14.0 and your ECU (software) is reading 14.2, you have an “offset” or voltage difference which is usually caused by the differences in ground planes (search on Google if you want to understand more). Essentially here, go back into PARAMETERS à Closed Loop and adjust the Voltage Offset box up or down, until you get the gauge and ECU to match. This box is in VOLTS, not AFR…so my suggestion is to adjust the value by “0.1” + or – until you get them to match. Negative values are ok to input here.

Next, you will want to make sure that you match everywhere in the Air/Fuel operating range or scale that the car will run in. You can do this in a variety of different ways…my method is to make the car go 10-20% richer and follow to make sure the gauge and ECU match at this rich point…next go 10-20% leaner and make sure the ECU and gauge continue to match. If they do NOT, you can adjust the rich point (voltage = zero) in the voltage / lambda conversion table as well at the lean point (voltage = 5). This is essentially using the ECU to re-curve ever so slightly any ground differences in between the Wideband and ECU.

You should NOT have to make large changes. Any change greater than +/- .5 volts would indicate you have a large grounding issue somewhere…you may have to investigate further and the diagnosis on how to do this is out of the scope of this article. Please search or bring it to a competent electrical specialist for the best help here.

Once your wideband and ECU match (it does NOT have to be absolutely perfect, close enough should be fine for the purposes of tuning and sending logs to your tuner remotely, within 2% is acceptable to me) you can now complete your tuning, or setup the on boarding logging so that you have complete data for seeing how your vehicle runs on the dyno, street or track with Hondata S300

Hondata KPRO (02-04 K-Series, KManager)

Open whichever tuning calibration you are running. If you are beginning your tune, setup ALL tuning related features, options and setting before trying to setup the Wideband. If your car is already tuned, open the TUNED CALIBRATION from your laptop. It is advised that you do not DOWNLOAD the calibration from the ECU, as this can possibly cause the calibration to become corrupt. ALWAYS save a copy of the original file as a backup…in case you mess up something in the calibration that causes the vehicle to run differently.

Goto OPTIONS - SETTINGS - Wideband Input

Select “use an External Wideband” since this is what we are doing, and then select the wideband you are using (PLX or Innovate are selectable, AEM you will have to input manually so select CUSTOM for AEM). In my opinion, the built in INNOVATE settings are WRONG, so input them as well as AEM as follows.

Innovate

AEM

Voltage Offset should start at 0, you may need to tweak this setting to get your gauge and ECU to match readings

Your Voltage/Lambda Conversion Table is specific to the wideband you are using. AEM and PLX will be very similar.

Once these are input, in the same screen go to SETTINGS à Lambda Overlay and select your Lambda Unit as AFR or Lambda, whichever you prefer.

Then start your vehicle and let it run for at least a minute. Your wideband will take some time to warm up (it has built in heater control, and it will need to stabilize).

Once it is running and warmed up, hit “CTRL+3” to bring up your SENSORS window and find the sensor labeled “O2” where it should be displaying some sort of Air/Fuel Ratio (or lambda if you selected this in SETTINGS.

Hopefully the car is tuned and running well, if not adjust your air/fuel ratio (using the gauge) until the car runs and idles steady.

Next, note any differences between your wideband GAUGE, and your “O2” reading in SMANAGER. For example, if your Gauge is reading 14.0 and your ECU (software) is reading 14.2, you have an “offset” or voltage difference which is usually caused by the differences in ground planes (search on Google if you want to understand more). Essentially here, go back into OPTIONS à SETTINGS àWideband Input and adjust the Voltage Offset box up or down, until you get the gauge and ECU to match. This box is in VOLTS, not AFR…so my suggestion is to adjust the value by “0.1” + or – until you get them to match. Negative values are ok to input here.

Next, you will want to make sure that you match everywhere in the Air/Fuel operating range or scale that the car will run in. You can do this in a variety of different ways…my method is to make the car go 10-20% richer and follow to make sure the gauge and ECU match at this rich point…next go 10-20% leaner and make sure the ECU and gauge continue to match. If they do NOT, you can adjust the rich point (voltage = zero) in the voltage / lambda conversion table as well at the lean point (voltage = 5). This is essentially using the ECU to re-curve ever so slightly any ground differences in between the Wideband and ECU.

You should NOT have to make large changes. Any change greater than +/- .5 volts would indicate you have a large grounding issue somewhere…you may have to investigate further and the diagnosis on how to do this is out of the scope of this article. Please search or bring it to a competent electrical specialist for the best help here.

Once your wideband and ECU match (it does NOT have to be absolutely perfect, close enough should be fine for the purposes of tuning and sending logs to your tuner remotely, within 2% is acceptable to me) you can now complete your tuning, or setup the on boarding logging so that you have complete data for seeing how your vehicle runs on the dyno, street or track with Hondata K-Manager

Neptune RTP Setup

Open whichever tuning calibration you are running. If you are beginning your tune, setup ALL tuning related features, options and setting before trying to setup the Wideband. If your car is already tuned, open the TUNED CALIBRATION from your laptop. It is advised that you do not DOWNLOAD the calibration from the ECU, as this can possibly cause the calibration to become corrupt. ALWAYS save a copy of the original file as a backup…in case you mess up something in the calibration that causes the vehicle to run differently.

Goto EDIT à PREFERENCES à Logging

If you have an AEM or PLX Wideband, all you have to do is click on that selection. At the time of this write-up, Innovate is not yet built in to select, so you will have to setup the voltage scale manually like follows. Click + under Wideband, and + twice on the voltage side and manually enter these numbers:

You can setup the rest of the setting like the above screen shot as well if it isn’t by default.

Wideband Offset should start at 0, you may need to tweak this setting to get your gauge and ECU to match readings

You CAN set the “GAS TYPE” from one of the preset units, if you want to…but then your ECU and Gauge will not match each other. To get them to match, always select “14.7 Gasoline w/ Additives” to begin with.

Then start your vehicle and let it run for at least a minute. Your wideband will take some time to warm up (it has built in heater control, and it will need to stabilize).

Once it is running and warmed up, hit “CTRL+D” to bring up your DATA window and find the sensor labeled “A/F Ratio” where it should be displaying some sort of Air/Fuel Ratio (or lambda if you have selected this in your logging preferences.

Hopefully the car is tuned and running well, if not adjust your air/fuel ratio (using the gauge for feedback) until the car runs and idles steady.

Next, note any differences between your wideband GAUGE, and your “A/F Ratio” reading in NEPTUNE. For example, if your Gauge is reading 14.0 and your ECU (software) is reading 14.2, you have an “offset” or voltage difference which is usually caused by the differences in ground planes (search on Google if you want to understand more). Essentially here, go back into your Logging Preferences (EDITàPREFERENCESàLOGGING and adjust the Wideband Offset box up or down, until you get the gauge and ECU to match. This box is in VOLTS, not AFR…so my suggestion is to adjust the value by “0.1” + or – until you get them to match. Negative values are ok to input here.

Next, you will want to make sure that you match everywhere in the Air/Fuel operating range or scale that the car will run in. You can do this in a variety of different ways…my method is to make the car go 10-20% richer and follow to make sure the gauge and ECU match at this rich point…next go 10-20% leaner and make sure the ECU and gauge continue to match. If they do NOT, you can adjust the rich point (voltage = zero) in the voltage / A/F Ratio conversion table as well at the lean point (voltage = 5). This is essentially using the ECU to re-curve ever so slightly any ground differences in between the Wideband and ECU. This will not work for the built-in selectable sensors, you will have to add a custom wideband setting and do this there if needed. Hopefully this is not something you have to adjust.

You should NOT have to make large changes. Any change greater than +/- .5 volts would indicate you have a large grounding issue somewhere…you may have to investigate further and the diagnosis on how to do this is out of the scope of this article. Please search or bring it to a competent electrical specialist for the best help here.

Once your wideband and ECU match (it does NOT have to be absolutely perfect, close enough should be fine for the purposes of tuning and sending logs to your tuner remotely, within 2% is acceptable to me) you can now complete your tuning, or setup the on boarding logging so that you have complete data for seeing how your vehicle runs on the dyno, street or track with Neptune RTP

Haltech Wideband Setup (Platinum Series ECU, sport 1000 or 2000)

Open whichever calibration you are running with Haltech. This article assumes you or your tuner already know something about setting up a calibration for your vehicle properly or that your vehicle has already been tuned. If you are beginning your tune, setup ALL tuning related features, options and setting before trying to setup the Wideband. If your car is already tuned, when you connect to the Haltech ECU, it will automatically download and open the current calibration that is running your ECU. Save a copy of this file independently BEFORE making any changes. ALWAYS save a copy of the original file as a backup…in case you mess up something in the calibration that causes the vehicle to run differently. Make all changes with the key ON

Hit shift + F4 to open the Main Setup Page, look on the left hand side of the screen for INPUTS, click on it.

In this page you will see a variety of input selection options. Click the check box next to O2 Input, to make that input active. Next choose from the drop down menu item that appears once you check that box and select “Wideband Sensor 1”

You will now see a new tab at the top of the screen for “O2 Wideband 1” so you should click on this.

By default this should be set to show the following:

This default setting will work for the Haltech Wideband, PLX and will work mostly well for an AEM Wideband on this setting. You should not have to change it if using one of these sensor kits.

If you are using an Innovate Wideband, set the Volts vs AFR-p to the following:

Click APPLY and then OK.

Next start your vehicle and let it run for at least a minute. Your wideband will take some time to warm up (it has built in heater control, and it will need to stabilize).

Once it is running and warmed up, you will want to make a gauge on one of your tuning screens to display the Air/Fuel Ratio your ECU is seeing.

Hopefully your ECU and Gauge are matched perfectly and the ECU is reading correctly. You may have to go back into the main setup and tweak that setup curve by adjusting the numbers (Volts vs AFR-p) until you get it to match. Generally I find if you wire the power and ground correctly to the Haltech box, the ground differences are minimal or even zero. This is a solid ECU where you don’t see typical “drifts” like you can on other ECUs.

Open whichever calibration you are running with Haltech. This article assumes you or your tuner already know something about setting up a calibration for your vehicle properly or that your vehicle has already been tuned. If you are beginning your tune, setup ALL tuning related features, options and setting before trying to setup the Wideband. If your car is already tuned, when you connect to the Haltech ECU, it will automatically download and open the current calibration that is running your ECU. Save a copy of this file independently BEFORE making any changes. ALWAYS save a copy of the original file as a backup…in case you mess up something in the calibration that causes the vehicle to run differently. Make all changes with the key ON

Hit shift + F4 to open the Main Setup Page, look on the left hand side of the screen for INPUTS, click on it.

In this page you will see a variety of input selection options. If using a default basemap, uncheck the Factory Inputs, Narrowband Sensor 1. Click the check box next to AVI2, to make that input active. Next choose from the drop down menu item that appears once you check that box and select “Wideband Sensor 1”

You will now see a new tab at the top of the screen for “O2 Wideband 1” so you should click on this.

By default this should be set to show the following:

This default setting will work for the Haltech Wideband, PLX and will work mostly well for an AEM Wideband on this setting. You should not have to change it if using one of these sensor kits.

If you are using an Innovate Wideband, set the Volts vs AFR-p to the following:

Click APPLY and then OK.

Next start your vehicle and let it run for at least a minute. Your wideband will take some time to warm up (it has built in heater control, and it will need to stabilize).

Once it is running and warmed up, you will want to make a gauge on one of your tuning screens to display the Air/Fuel Ratio your ECU is seeing.

Hopefully your ECU and Gauge are matched perfectly and the ECU is reading correctly. You may have to go back into the main setup and tweak that setup curve by adjusting the numbers (Volts vs AFR-p) until you get it to match. Generally I find if you wire the power and ground correctly to the Haltech box, the ground differences are minimal or even zero. This is a solid ECU where you don’t see typical “drifts” like you can on other ECUs.

AEM Series 2 ECU Wideband Setup

Open whichever calibration you are running with the AEM. This article assumes you or your tuner already know something about setting up a calibration for your vehicle properly or that your vehicle has already been tuned. If you are beginning your tune from scratch, setup ALL tuning related features, options and settings before trying to setup the Wideband. If your car is already tuned, when you connect to the AEM ECU, it will automatically download and open the current calibration that is running your ECU. Save a copy of this file independently BEFORE making any changes. ALWAYS save a copy of the original file as a backup…in case you mess up something in the calibration that causes the vehicle to run differently. Make all changes with the key ON so they update as you make them.

AEM is nice because they make the setup very easy. Go to WIZARDS à SETUP WIZARD (at the top of the screen).

Under wizard types, select “Sensor: O2 #1 (AFR)” and look at the listing of various widebands they have available for setup. All variations of AEM wideband are available, along with the Innovate and PLX brand wideband as well. All you need to do is Double Click on the sensor of your choice and the wizard does the work for you. Once selected, you will see “MATCHED” next to the sensor you have chosen.

Click APPLY and then CLOSE

Next start your vehicle and let it run for at least a minute. Your wideband will take some time to warm up (it has built in heater control, and it will need to stabilize).

Now you just need to monitor O2 #1 in any CHANNEL window. Easiest place to find it if you don’t have any Tabs Open or Created is to go to TABSàO2 F/B (which stands for O2 Feedback) where it will be displayed in the Channels Window in this tab.

IF, you need to tweak or adjust the reading here (if your ECU and Gauge do not match) you will have to go to TABSàSensors

Look for the graph labeled O2 Sensor #1 Cal and watch where in that “curve” the sensor is showing. If the readings between your ECU and gauge are off, click on any data point in that graph and then select all (ctrl+a). Once all points are selected, use your “+” and “-“ shortcut keys to move those points higher or lower until your ECU and gauge match. Now this will only make your ECU and gauge match at ONE Air/Fuel Ratio point…you may have to do this at various points along this curve to get everything reading perfectly depending on the wiring in your vehicle.